This is the Seattle Sports Blog bringing you up to date current events of Seattle Sports. This blog has several writers who will discuss several sports related topics but mainly focus on Seattle Sports.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Well its that time of year where fans of baseball teams who are completely out of the playoff race are getting excited. I love football for several reasons. I love the fact that in football every team in the NFL has a chance. In the NFL a city like Green Bay has as many Superbowl titles as the New York Giants. The NFL and College Football are the only sports where I can watch a game of two teams that has nothing to do with my particular favorite team and enjoy that game.

In the NFL because of Fantasy Football(Which I'm the two time defending champion in my keeper league of 16 teams btw) even when the Seahawks are doing horrible I can watch the Sunday Night or Monday Night game with some interest. Baseball I play fantasy baseball but its just not the same, football its all done in one weekend. In the NFL and College Football every game means something as well. In baseball you are going to win 60 games and you are going to lose 60 games regardless of how good or bad you are.

I personally can't wait for preseason football for the Seahawks. I'm really excited to see the new guys like Golden Tate, Charlie Whitehurst, Earl Thomas, Russel Okung. I'm so excited for football. I'm also going to love football because I have something other than the boring ass Mariners to write about. The Mariners are so boring and I'm sure everyone is tired of reading about them just like I'm tired of writing about them.

I can't wait til September 4th when UW travels to BYU. I'm hoping this is a bowl team and at BYU will be a great test. Nothing gets me going like UW football. When UW wins it makes my entire day great, a UW loss ruins my week. UW football is by far and beyond my #1 team and no other team even comes close.

I'm excited for some football. At least during football season I won't have to worry about writing about the Mariners anymore. At least during football season my team actually has a chance as its hard to be burried in football for a few months. At least if my team is horrible I always have my fantasy football team. Are you guys ready for some football?! I sure as hell am! I can't wait for football season!

Monday, July 26, 2010

This is a tough subject for me to talk about because I'm a staunch Ichiro supporter. When he was being bashed for being "selfish" my reply was "Yes he's selfishly gets 200 hits a year". Ichiro however is getting up there in age and with the Mariners putting an emphasis on a youth movement the question needs to be asked what to do with Ichiro?

Ichiro is going to be 37 years old this October. For comparison look how washed up Ken Griffey JR looked this season, he was 41 years old. Ichiro is still a great leadoff hitter having had 200+ hits in every season in the bigs and is on pace this year for his 10th straight season of 200+ hits. He is still a gold glove right outfielder with great range and an excellent arm. He steals bases having 23 on the season which is on pace for 38 at the end of the year. Given Ichiro's current ability he still has plenty to offer another franchise. The Mariners most likely would have to eat some of his salary as no team would take on that 18 million a season. If the Mariners trade Ichiro they could get themselves a great package of prospects back(you liked the Cliff Lee trade? This would be greater).

The Mariners next year will giving such young guys Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Michael Saunders, Adam Moore regular playing time which means the future is bright but also means 2011 is going to be a rebuilding year. The Mariners are looking at 2012 to legitmately be a playoff team and by then Ichiro will be 38 years old going on 39 years old. If the Mariners trade Ichiro they could get back another 4 prospects including a super awsome prospect(like a Smoak) to build around. The Mariners would have money to spend on other such free agents while getting younger in the process.

This is hard for me to write about trading Ichiro because he has done so much for this franchise. He is a 10 time All-star(Tied Griffey's franchise record this season), led the AL in hits 6 times in his 9 season, led the AL in batting average twice and won the franchises 2nd MVP award. Ichiro will be in the HOF wearing a Mariners hat and will hopefully have his #51 retired(possibly retire his #51 same day as Randy Johnson's #51 much like the Blazers did with #30). Had baseball not been so blind to the ability of Japanese born players he could be chasing Pete Roses record as he already has over 2,100 hits in his career.

For how great Ichiro has been he has been wasted in Seattle. In 2004 he scored just 101 runs despite having 262 hits that year. Ichiro has only made the Playoffs just once in his career and that was his rookie season and after his 3rd year in the Major Leagues he has only experienced two winning seasons and has been on 4 teams that have lost 90+ games(I'm counting this year). At what point do the Mariners owe it to Ichiro to trade him to a contender? Its going to be a sad day if the Mariners management decides to trade Ichiro. He has done alot for this franchise and been very successful unfortunetly the Mariners uppermanagement hasn't surrounded him with a team at all.

Trading Ichiro would be a win-win for both parties. The Mariners would get some cash relief(Like I said they'd probably have to eat a chunk of his salary) plus get some nice young prospects to grow with Ackley, Saunders, Smoak,Felix and Pineda. Ichiro would finally get a chance to showcase his talents on the national stage in October where he excelled in his first and only playoff in 2001.

Will the Mariners do the right thing and trade Ichiro? Most likely not because Mariners and "right thing" don't go together ever. For the time being appreciate Ichiro for what he is and hope the Mariners do him and the team a favor by trading him.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Facebook is a damn joke! They took down my blog and won't even discuss it so I will start another blog site on facebook. Please stay loyal to my blog I will appreciate it greatly.

Here is the joke of an email I received from this assholes

"Hi Seattle,

Your account was disabled because your behavior on the site was identified as harassing or threatening to other people on Facebook. Prohibited behavior includes, but is not limited to:

• Sending friend requests to people you don't know• Regularly contacting strangers through unsolicited Inbox messages• Soliciting others for dating or business purposes

After reviewing your situation, we have determined that your behavior violated Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. You will no longer be able to use Facebook. This decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Please note that for technical and security reasons, we will not provide you with any further details about this decision.

Thanks,

LiamUser OperationsFacebook"

Here was my response which was heated.

"Abusive huh? I have never once harassed anyone on this site. In fact I have received some emails from people asking me what happened to my site.

I will start up another facebook page then and will continue to do so. This is my lively hood. This was an avenue to express my blog. I don't get how I was reported as "abusive" for having 900 friends when several people have thousands and thousands of friends. I don't get how I was harassing people when I was friend requesting people that YOU suggested that I friend.

Its a great shame that you guys got to be so big you no longer care about people anymore. Facebook used to be a fun site and an avenue for me to discuss sports with my fellow friends. Its a shame that you are so narrow minded on your decision.

I didn't receive a single warning on this topic. I have NOT sent out a single Email, every email that I messaged someone was in RESPONSE to their original post!

This is a horrible decision by your part. I will continue to keep creating pages so you might as well resume my page. I thought I could maybe get a warning since this is the first time I've heard of this. Also I'll report every major person who has numerous friends so you can delete them as well. See how flawed that is?

Your decision is a joke and crushed my site. Thanks for putting me out of business. "

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I woke up this morning to do some work on my blog and come to find out that my blog has been disabled.I hope that out of all you guys who have been on my facebook page continue to check out this blog. I honestly have no idea when my facebook page will return. I have messaged Mark Zuckerberg and team facebook already. They sent me a message varifying that I'm a real person and if this was really me email I then responded to that. I don't know when I'll get my page back.

Here was the email exchange."Hi,

In order to receive support, you must reply to this email to verify that you are the owner of the Facebook account that you referenced in your inquiry. This security step must be completed before Facebook can respond to your inquiry.

In addition, note that Facebook will only be able to provide assistance if you are writing in from the email address that you used to log in to your Facebook profile that's disabled. If your disabled profile was registered under a different email address, then you will need to respond directly from that email address. To do this, take the following steps:

• Copy the exact email address you see in the "From" field of this email (ending in @support.facebook.com). • Log in to the email account under which your disabled Facebook profile was registered. • Compose a new email. Paste the address you copied (ending in @support.facebook.com) into the "To" field, let us know you're responding from your disabled email address in the body, and click "Send."

Once we have this information, we will take further steps to assist you. Remember that writing in multiple times will not result in a faster response. Once you submit your initial request, it is placed in a queue and responded to accordingly.

Lastly, you may not create another account using a different email address while you are waiting for a response. Creating more than one Facebook account is a violation of our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and violations of this rule could result in all of your accounts being permanently disabled.

Thanks, The Facebook Team"

Here was my response....

"Hi this is indeed Seattle Sportsblog. I tried clicking on your link and nothing came up. I was wondering why my profile was disabled. I have over 900 friends but I see others have over thousands of friends. I haven't used any "F" words or nudity on my profile. Without warning my profile was disabled and I'm very dissapointed and it has ruined my day so far.

My email is seattlesportsblog@yahoo.com

My name on Facebook is Seattle Sportsblog and my blog is seattlesports.tk"

I'll keep you guys posted until I get word. If they don't re-activate my page I will create a new page and I hope you guys still continue to follow this blog. I still have not been told why my facebook page was disabled and am extremely pissed off with Facebook doing that. If anyone reported my page then you are a chicken sh*t person. This blog was a forum for people to discuss sports and some topics got heated a bit but we were very classy sports blog. We offered some strong opinions but we also backed them up with some facts.

Spread the word that facebook disabled my blog to everyone. For now I'll still continue to post on here. Hopefully we get our account back.

Thanks guys for building our page up the way we did and I"m confident we can do it again!

Monday, July 12, 2010

I'm going to talk about my favorite All-Star game moments. For me my favorite All-Star game will always be the 2001 All-Star game. I remember when the Mariners were awarded the All-Star game in 1998 I couldn't wait until the day came when we finally had the All-Star game. Then the disaster of the 2000 offseason happened and just like that the nightmare scenario was going to take place. A-Rod, Ken Griffey Jr and Randy Johnson were all going to return to Safeco Field wearing different uniforms and the Mariners were going to be horrible and the game wasn't going to be fun at all. Instead just the opposite happened the Mariners had 8 friggin All-Stars and we had the best record in baseball. Quick trivia question can you name all 8 All-Stars? Extra credit if you can name the original 6? The Answer will be at the bottom.

I remember the day of the game being a hot summer day and I couldn't wait for Drivers Education class to be over with. I was so excited to watch the biggest sporting event of the summer take place in my hometown and that game featured 8 Seattle Mariners as the Mariners had the best record in baseball. The game itself featured many memorable plays. Tommy Lasorda falling down on a flying bat from Vlad Guerrero, Arod asking Cal Ripken Jr to play SS in his final All-Star game, Ichiro beating Randy Johnson to first base for an infield single. Most of all the game was memorable because Cal Ripken Jr blasted a homerun off Chan Ho Park in the 3rd inning to deep left field in the bullpen. The crowd of 47,364 erupted as Cal hit the homerun. The crowd gave him several standing ovations. Ripken would win the All-Star game MVP in his final All-Star game. That game also honored Tony Gwynn who was playing in his last season as well. Former Mariners Randy Johnson and Arod started the games and Ken Griffey Jr was hurt that year. The American League won the game 4-1as Seattle Mariners pitcher Freddy Garcia got the Win and closer Kaz Sasaski got the save. That is the only time in Major League history that the host city had the winning pitcher and have the closing pitcher get the save in the same game.

I have never in my life been more excited to be a baseball fan than I was that summer. I had just completed my first year of highschool and my Mariners were on their way to winning a record 116 games. That was a special season for me as a kid who would turn 16 in the fall. The season ended dissapointing but on that day Me and the rest of Seattle we were on cloud 9. The Beautiful Stadium was on full display and the city of Seattle passed with flying colors.

Okay you have the answer to the trivia question yet? The answers are the starters were Ichiro Suzuki(leadoff hitter), Brett Boone(hit 4th and cleanup), John Olerud(hit 6th) and Edgar Martinez(hit 7th). The reserves were Freddy Garcia and Kaz Sasaski. The two other injury replacements were Mike Cameron and Jeff Nelson.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

So we've had our final match of the 2010 World Cup, and it was, well, it was a bit dull I'll be the first to admit. Not because it wasn't a very good game, it was, but if you wanted to see a game of up and down the field play with open goal scoring chances, you'd have been better off watching the wonderful 3rd place game on Saturday between Germany and Uruguay. In fact, if you missed that game, go watch it. Now. I can wait, honestly.

Done? Brilliant. So, this game. It was a struggle in the midfield between two sides that wouldn't back down, except of course for Spain flopping all over the pitch. Seriously, it's a World Cup FINAL and you're falling down like you're auditioning for Nameless Thug Who Gets Machine Gunned Down #3 in the new John Woo Hong Kong epic gangster flick. I understand it's part of the game, and I don't often get worked up about it for just that reason, but if you can't stay upright in the biggest game of your lives, you shouldn't get bailed out for it by the officials. Which is of course what happened, over and over again, right down to a BAD red card in extra time that gave Spain the man advantage that would ultimately be enough to get them to the promised land.

And this is important for Spain, who got over the hump of being choke artists at Euro 2008 and continued that ability to come through in the clutch to World Cup 2010. They weren't ever the dominant side that I felt they could be, though with Torres nursing a serious knee injury, perhaps that was hoping for too much. They plugged along, did all the things you're supposed to do, and walked away with the trophy. Spain has often felt they didn't get the respect they deserved as an international soccer threat. I can't imagine that will ever happen again. Really, it's just nice to add another name to the trophy list. It gets a bit dull every year watching Argentina, Germany, Brazil and Italy. Especially Italy. Those guys suck.

Now it's time to start thinking about the upcoming club season, and perhaps focus a bit on the Sounders if you're a Seattle native. Though their position at the bottom of the table isn't exactly inspiring at the moment. Still, if you've got the time and money, get yourself to Qwest Field. There's nothing in the world like a live football match. Even one in a 3rd tier professional league. Yeah, I said it.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Felix Hernandez should have been an all-star in the first place. His ERA was in the low 3's and he had a good WHIP, K's and is a horse. In a game which homefield advantage is on the line you want your very best and Felix is a top 5 pitcher in all of baseball not just the American League. Its a joke that nobody on ESPN even mentioned that Felix was snubbed. This guy took 2nd last year in the Cy Young award and is having a great year. His record isn't there because his team can't score runs or protect leads.

Good chance Felix has an opportunity to be chosen for the All-Star game as guys like Sabathia(or any other All-Star who is pitching on sunday) won't be eligible to pitch in the All-Star game.

Felix has been just dominant recently. In Felix's last 6 starts he has gone 51 2/3 innings(average of 8 1/3 innings a start) with a 4-0 record and a 1.21 ERA, 52 K's and a 0.81 WHIP. During which he faced the Yankees and went 2-0 with 2 CG's and has 0.50 ERA with 20 K's against the best team in baseball(Not to mention he has 3 straight CG's vs the Yankees dating back to last year, 27 Innings of just 2 runs). He has simply been filthy the last 6 starts.

Now pitching just 6 starts doesn't make you an all-star unless your Stephen Strasberg so I'll give you Felix's up to date stats. He is now 7-5 with a 2.88 ERA and a whip of 1.15. He has 131 strikeouts in 137 2/3 innings on the year. He is averaging 7 1/3 innings a start on the season. He has 4 CG's this year and 5 times this year has pitched 9 innings. In 8 of his 19 starts he has gone 8 innings or more, in 13 starts he has gone 7 innings or more(2 starts he went 6.2 innings). He has been a horse for the Mariners this year and has pitched great. He needs to be in the All-star game.

Come on Joe Giradi when it comes time to pick a replacement don't make the same mistake again. Pick King Felix. The fans want to see this great young pitcher.

So, World Cup Final. Big deal stuff. The whole world is watching. And, for once, that appears to include America. Guess we should break down the teams.

Spain is the best team in the world. No one really disagrees on that point, based on the rankings from FIFA as well as the SPI that ESPN is using these days (hey, I trust Nate Silver with these sort of things, I'd advise you to do the same). However, they haven't blown anyone away in this tournament. They're plugging along, getting their one goal a game, and then keeping the other team at bay. While this is an effective way to get through a tournament, one can't help but feel like we haven't seen the best Spain has to offer. They've got one more chance to bring the thunder, and they're matched up against a team with a weak enough defense in the middle to let them do so. Spain should run away with this game if they play their best, I'm just not sure if they've brought their best to South Africa.

As for the Dutch, well, I'd say they've gotta hope to get a little bit of luck. But that's been the story of their tournament, so again, why shouldn't it continue into the Final? They got the break they needed against Brazil, they got the goals they needed against Uruguay and then held against an absurdly long final fury from a determined Uruguay squad. The Dutch are gifted with the ball, and they put themselves in positions to get the breaks they need. Unlike Spain, they haven't lost in South Africa, and the games they've won have been clearly theirs, no extra time needed, no penalties. The Dutch deserve to have some confidence going into the Final.

All that said, I'm still going with Spain. Yeah, it's a cop out, but they're the better team on talent. Talent has a funny way of winning out in contests of skill and athleticism. Still, my heart is with the Orange on Sunday. Ultimately, as long as the game lives up to the hype, we all win.

Friday, July 9, 2010

The Mariners pulled of the heist of the century acquiring Cliff Lee for pennies on the dollar back in December. Jack Z only surrendered Phillipe Aumont , Tyson Gilles and Juan Ramirez to the Phillies. Tyson Gilles was an Outfielder that was blocked in our organization behind Ichiro, Franklin Guiterrez, and the much more highly regarded Michael Saunders. Aumont the former first round pick of the Mariners started the season in Double A for the Phillies and has since slipped back to Single A and is looking more as if he projects as a bullpen arm in the future. Its safe to say the Mariners didn't give much for Cliff Lee, some might suggest that Brandon Marrow to the Blue Jays was an extension of the Cliff Lee trade, but either way Jack Z stole a CY Young winner and anything seemed possible during spring training. However, things didn't work out as planned but the addition of Cliff Lee allowed the Mariners to re-sign Felix to a longterm deal. Felix felt the M's were committed to winning and signed 5 more years with the franchise. If you knew nothing else about Cliff Lee trade besides that it allowed the Mariners to avoid a Roy Halladay situation and re-sign their 24 year old ace Felix to a longterm deal it would have been a wonderful trade. The hope and excitement Cliff Lee brought took talks away from when Felix would eventually be traded and instead gave a new focus to the most dynamic 1-2 punch in baseball since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. This was a team built to win in the playoffs and designed to win short series but was never given the opportunity.

Fast forward to July 9th and Jack Z is sitting at the poker table playing with house money. Any move Jack made, or didn't make for that matter would have been the right move; there was no losing in this situation. If Cliff Lee walked at the end the year the Mariners would earn two first round picks because he would have been assured Type A status. Looking back to this spring the Mariners would have gladly taken first round picks for Aumont, Gilles and Ramirez. In this case though Jack Z exceeded all expectations. Taking Justin Smoak straight off a division rival was very very impressive. Smoak is under club control for the next five years playing for practically peanuts. Jacky Z finally found the power hitting 1B the Mariners have coveted since he has taken over the GM position. Smoak a lefthanded stick who should be able to find success in Safeco Field were other right handed power bats such as Adrian Beltre or Richie Sexson have struggled. Not to mention he is a pretty decent defensive player and you should be very excited as a Mariners fan right now. The M's were able to get 3 other prospects but they are nothing to write home about. The most notable being pitcher Blake Beavan a former first round pick in 07. Beavan should find success in Safeco as a pitcher who will pound the strikezone similar to a Jason Vargas or Doug Fister this season, but again nothing to get excited about.

The Mariners have some real hope for the future right now, and some exciting young prospects to watch the next two years. Adding Justin Smoak fills just a giant need for the Mariners.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Lebron James claims he made this decision yesterday. I think he knew all along during this free agency process. I think this whole press conference and free agent process was an absolute friggin joke! I think this process proved several things.

1. Lebron is bigger than anyone in the NBA. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudamire were all after thoughts to what Lebron was going to do.

2. Lebron has as big of ego as Kanye West. Instead of signing with Bosh and Wade at the same time he waited til the very end. He was the last big free agent to sign and waited separatly from those two so he can have all the limelight to himself. He held a press conference to openly stab his hometown team in the heart. I feel for the Cleveland fans, I know how it feels to lose a superstar being a Seattle Sports fan.

3. The Media coverage is just beyond huge. With Twitter, Cell phones, Facebook, Blogs like this its just crazy. Lebron exploited all this attention. I think Lebron would rather be the flashiest player and most talked about guy in the league than win a title personally.

This now begs the question can 3 superstars and 9 nobodies win a title? I think this is a stars league. Players #1-3 matter more than players #4-12. I think you can develope role players. These min players were all stars in college and can knock down the open jumper and play gritty tough defense. Remember people question Boston 3 years ago and Boston big 3 were all past their primes.

The Heat need to make some moves as they have no bigs inside. Also if your the Heat's new head coach are you happy? Yes your team just got better but if Riley can fire long time assistent Stan Van Gundy you know your as good as gone.

Overall this whole process makes me sick. The NBA is staged, the decision wasn't made yesterday Lebron. Be honest this decision was made back in 2008! For once in your life own up.

Did Lebron make the right decision? Should have he stayed loyal to the Cavs? Sign with the Bulls and join Rose, Boozer and Noah?

The experts on ESPN don't even know. Chris Broussard says sources close to him are telling him that Lebron is going to the Heat. Dan Lebatard claims the decision was made back in 2008 that all three would play together. Tim Legler of ESPN claims it has to be the Knicks given all the money he could make in New York. He is also holding his press conference 15 minutes from the Knicks practice facility. Lebron's friends keep pulling at him to stay home in Cleveland and the Bulls are probably the best roster for him.

Ultimately who really knows where Lebron is going. Never in my life has there been this much anticipation about an offseason and today is the Superbowl of this offseason. After today and tomorrow you won't be reading much NBA posts on this blog. The NBA can feel good about itself now but this time next year they'll be having a lockout that could potentionally kill the sport.

Lebron going to the Heat could save the NBA. The NBA needs dynasties and great teams. Leagues thrive on greatness(expect for the NFL who went the exact opposite). The NBA is about great teams winning titles. Only 8 franchises(Lakers 10, Bulls 6, Celtics 4, Spurs 4, Pistons 3, Rockets 2, 76ers 1, Heat 1) have won an NBA title in the last 30 years and thats counting Miami who has to this date just 1 title. The Heat-Lakers rivalry will be pretty fun to watch. Look how great Lebron and Dwyane Wade played together in the Olympics and All-star games. This could be really fun to watch.

We'll keep you updated on everything we hear about Lebron and give you reaction after he has made his decision. I think he is choosing the Heat and by choosing the Heat he is saying to David Stern yes I'm bigger than you!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Celtics signed Ray Allen to a 2 year contract today with a player option for the 2nd year. All the dominoes seem to be falling around the league on the verge of Lebron announcing where he will play basketball for his near future tomorrow. The Celtics are a team that was just one game away from winning the NBA finals last season and will keep its main core in tact with Rondo, Garnett, Pierce, and now Allen. Don't forget this was the same Celtics team who couldn't secure a home court advantage for the playoffs and a group that without question is playing on the back nine of their careers.

Depending on the news of Lebron tomorrow one name that makes sense for Boston will be Shaquille O'Neal. If Lebron stays in Cleveland look for Shaq to stay also, but if Lebron should bolt look for Shaq in Celtic green. They have everything he needs in a team: a big market, a slow tempo offense, a title contender, veteran coach and team that is saying if we don't give up 23 offensive rebounds in game 7 we just won our second title in three years. stay posted!

Carlos Boozer is a great addition for the Bulls. This gives them that power downlow guy who can score which they were lacking. However this is big news because I don't know if you have heard or not but someone is announcing which team he is joining tomorrow at 6 PM PT on ESPN. When the Heat landed Bosh and resigned Wade it had appeared that the Bulls were going to strike out. Has it has so often done this offseason things have changed yet again.

If Lebron wants to win a ring well now there is another team who is a viable option for him. Joining the Bulls he'd be paired up with a top 15 player in the NBA in Derrick Rose along with Carlos Boozer plus the great interior defender in Joakin Noah. The Bulls would most likely add a Ray Allen or Kyle Korver type as well.

If Lebron goes to the Heat he'd be paired up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and 8 min players.

Lebron can stay home and return to the Cavs who have won 60 games in back to back years.

Lebron could also join the Knicks with Amare Stoudamire and Eddy Curry's 11 million dollard expiring contract. The Knicks estimate that Lebron could earn up to a Billion Dollars if he goes to the Knicks.

Lebron could join the Nets who will most likely sign David Lee. He'd be paired up with Devon Harris, Brook Lopez, Terrance Willams and 3rd pick overall Derrick Favors.

Lebron has plenty of options now to join a good situation either this year or next year. I'm sure you'll all be glued to the TV sets tomorrow to see his decision. Whatever team he picks or passes up will dictate the championship for the next 6 years.

This is a sad day for Seattle Sports. We were all waiting for the day that Durant would leave that awful city that stole our team away from us. Instead that city will get to watch Durant for at least 5 more seasons which is truly a shame. He was supposed to be ours. He was supposed to get the city of Seattle which has been down for so long in sports a boost instead David Stern and the NBA ripped him away from us.

This begs the question though who would you rather have Kevin Durant for 5 years at 85 million or Rudy Gay at 5 years/83 million? This is a sarcastic question of course. Is it possible to be a "steal" when you make 17 million a season? I think in Durants case he is considering Joe Johnsons, Amare's and Gay's rediculous contracts. The economy is a giant crutch for why the NBA is Failing. The NBA is failing because of these rediculous contracts to guys who aren't franchise guys.

Kudos to Sam Presti for locking up a franchise guy and paying him the same amount as Rudy Gay and less than Joe Johnson.

Chris Bosh decided to not take Lebron up on his offer to join him in Cleveland instead choosing to go to Miami with another superstar in Dwyane Wade. This move doesn't impact the NBA just yet as Wade and Bosh alone are just an above average team in the East. The bigger question is where does Lebron James go from here? Does he still choose to stay at home or does he try and go for a dynasty with Wade and Bosh?